Memorial to Inspt Donegan to be unveiled

Event begins 3pm, with a full colour parade led by the Garda Band along Farnham Street to the steps of Cavan Courthouse.

Almost 50 years almost to the date of his killing, a memorial is to be erected in honour of Inspector Samuel Donegan at Cavan Garda Station later today.

The event coincides with the centenary year marking the formation of An Garda Síochána also.

Insp Donegan, a native of Ballintampen near Longford, died on June 8, 1972. He was killed by a booby-trap bomb left by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on a country lane in the Drumboghanagh area north of Redhills.

He was aged 61 years, having given 37 years of service to An Garda Síochána at the time of his death. Sam was survived by his wife and six adult children at the time.

The memorial event, starting at 3pm, is being organised by the Garda Síochána Retired Members Association (GSRMA) Cavan branch, and will be attended by surviving members of Insp Donegan’s family.

The memorial has also been organised with support from An Garda Síochána nationally, St Paul’s and St Raphael’s Garda Credit Unions and Cavan County Council.

It will begin with a full colour parade led by the Garda Band along Farnham Street to the steps of Cavan Courthouse where a short Ecumenical service will take place.

This will be followed by the unveiling of the Memorial to Insp Donegan at the front of Cavan Garda Station.